The Easiest Air Fryer Tater Tots {Super Crispy}

Name: The Easiest Air Fryer Tater Tots {Super Crispy}
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 (800g) bag frozen tater tots; Cooking spray; Salt, to taste; 1/2 cup mayo; 1 tbsp ketchup; 1 tbsp BBQ sauce; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; 1 tsp hot sauce

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This is the easiest foolproof method to making crispy Tater Tots in the Air Fryer – serve them with my delicious homemade dipping sauce!

Ingredients and substitutions

Frozen tater tots – any variety of store-bought frozen tater tots will work for this recipe.
Cooking spray – you can leave this out, but it helps keep the tater tots from sticking to the basket and makes them extra crispy.
Salt – to taste.

Bonus dipping sauce

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Mayo – use a low-fat mayo or non-fat sour cream to cut down on the calories.
Ketchup – if you want to cut down on sugar, go for a ketchup that doesn’t include corn syrup.
BBQ sauce – use your favourite store-bought variety.
Dijon mustard – stone-ground or yellow mustard will provide a similar flavour.
Hot sauce – leave this out if you don’t like spice.

How to make tater tots in the air fryer

Season and coat the tater tots.
Cook for 20 minutes.
Assemble the sauce ingredients.
Make the sauce.
Shake the air fryer basket every 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

The best dipping sauce

Making the dipping sauce is really just a matter of combining the ingredients together in a bowl. It’s that easy! All you need are mayo, ketchup, BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard and some hot sauce.

If you want to cut some of the fat, sugar and calories, feel free to use low-fat and lower sugar substitutes. For the mayo, you can substitute an equal amount of low-fat mayo, or even non-fat sour cream. To cut the sugar, use barbecue sauce and ketchup that don't include corn syrup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do you cook tater tots in an air fryer?

The tater tots only take 20 minutes to cook in the air fryer at 400° Fahrenheit.

Do you have to flip them?

You don’t have to flip the tater tots, but you should shake the basket every five minutes to make sure they’re cooking evenly.

What goes well with tater tots?

Anything that you like to serve with baked potatoes or French fries will pair perfectly with fried potato tots! Thanks to their small size, they’re a kid-friendly finger food. So, they are great with meals like hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Turn them into a meal by loading on your favourite protein and toppings.

Do you need to preheat the air fryer?

Preheating the fryer isn't absolutely necessary. That being said, preheating does help to reduce the cooking time. Plus, if you add the tater tots while the unit is still cool, they may thaw slightly before the unit heats up enough to start cooking them. As a result, the outside of the tots may be slightly mushy.

Storing and reheating

In the same way that French fries are best when they are fresh from the fryer, the same applies to tater tots. However, if you do have leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container and enjoy them again within a few days.

To reheat the leftovers, arrange the potatoes in a single layer on a sheet pan. Then, place the pan of tots into a preheated oven at 350° Fahrenheit. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until they are warm all the way through. You can also reheat them in the air fryer at 375° Fahrenheit for 5 minutes – just make sure to preheat the air fryer first.

Freezing this recipe

Once you've cooked frozen tater tots, you can't refreeze them – so make sure you only cook what you're going to eat and keep the rest in the freezer for later.

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Meal prep tools for this recipe

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